Health professionals are backing Gareth Thomas

Independent research from the House of Commons library has found that Northwick Park has not met the 4-hour A&E target since August 2014.

Data sourced by Harrow West’s Labour and Co-op candidate Gareth Thomas from the House of Common’s Library confirmed 25% of patients arriving at A&E in the London Northwest Hospitals Trust were not seen within the 4-hour target. A figure which sees the trust ranked at despairing 102 of NHS 133 trusts in England and Wales(1).

Northwick Park is under huge pressure. Its A&E department has not met the target of 95% of patients attending A&E being admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours since august 2014(2). There is a significant shortage of critical care beds and a huge maintenance backlog; and yet the hospital is not being given enough money to make ends meet. Despite selling off land it had a £30 million deficit at the end of last year which is set to get worse.

Dr David Lloyd, Senior GP from West Harrow is backing Gareth “as a champion for our local health service, who has been working hard to keep open the three walk-in centres in Harrow” in order to “take the pressure of a very overstretched A&E service at Northwick Park”.

The closure of popular walk-in centres such as at Alexandra Avenue and Belmont Healthcare, which were open from 8am to 8pm 365 days a year, and the scheduled closure of the Pinn Medical centre has further increased the pressures at Northwick Park Hospital.

Gareth Thomas, who is currently campaigning to be re-elected in the parliamentary seat of Harrow West, said… “The staff at Northwick Park do a remarkable job in difficult circumstances. It is completely unacceptable that our hospital is being starved of new funding to invest in extra beds, nurses and doctors it needs.

For seven years Ministers led Northwick Park a merry dance promising extra money once they had shut other A&E departments. Now that plan has collapsed, and no new plan has been brought forward and most important of all no new money has been made available for our hospital”

West Harrow Pharmacist, Lila Thakerar MBE is also supporting Gareth, stating, “Gareth has always been a great supporter of pharmacy patients, especially with the recent truck shortages for vulnerable patients suffering from epilepsy and diabetes. He knows the impact this is having on us locally and it is important residents re-elect him in Harrow.”

"Gareth is a champion for our local health service, who has been working hard to keep open the three walk-in centres in Harrow”Dr David Lloyd, Senior GP from West Harrow